Berkshire Hathaway released its 2022 Annual Report and Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders today at 8:00 am ET. Ten highlights are:
(1) Berkshire’s operating earnings declined by 8% in Q4 2022 vs. Q4 2021, but rose by 9% for CY 2022 vs. CY 2021.
(2) Cash equaled $129 billion at yearend 2022 compared to $109 billion on September 30, 2022.
(3) Stock buybacks equaled $2.6 b in Q4 and $7.9 b in CY 2022.
(4) Stock repurchases in Q4 of $2.6 billion are up from $1 billion in the third quarter. The total for 2022 of $7.9 billion is down sharply from $27 billion in 2021 and $24.7 billion in 2020.
(5) Berkshire repurchased its Class A shares at an average price of $468,114 and Class B shares at $303.83 in December, 2022. On February 24, 2023 they closed at $461,705 and $304.02, respectively.
(6) Berkshire bought back an additional $700 million of its shares in 2023 through February 13.
(7) Buffett defended stock buybacks: Those who criticize “all” repurchases are an “economic illiterate or a silver-tongued demagogue (characters that are not mutually exclusive).”
(8) Berkshire’s portfolio at yearend 2022 was approximately 70% equity and 30% fixed income.
(9) Berkshire’s stock performance over the past 5 years precisely equaled that of the S&P 500 (+57%). (See p. K-32 of 10-K)
(10) Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders was substantially truncated from previous years.
